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Salmon on Ice: a new Canucks tradition?

There is a Vancouver Canucks Craze going on about town! I thought I would jump on board, and discuss how salmon is used in a different way.

Throwing seafood on ice has been a long-standing tradition in the NHL, with the most well-known example being the octopus on ice at Detroit’s games, which has been going on for decades. Fans of other teams have thrown any number of items on the ice – San Jose has had a shark eating an octopus, Nashville had catfish, and other not so seafood-related have been rats and rattlesnakes. Salmon is a symbol of the province, so naturally, if the Canucks can’t have an orca whale, the next best thing would be a salmon.

Most discussion online does not explain why this is happening. One can only assume some fans are trying to start a new tradition, or they feel it is a necessary practice for spectators of live hockey games. There is very little newspaper coverage providing information about its history, but the earliest account I came across, was in the 1994 finals when someone threw a salmon on the ice during game 6. Since then, the “tradition” (if it can be called that) has re-appeared fewer than half a dozen times, once during the 2009 season, then again, a few times this season.

Some website forum participants have expressed opposition, as they think it is a waste of a good fish. Others think the tradition is not ours, and is one that should remain with the Detroit team. A few fans feel the tradition should continue, but they would recommend going with chum salmon, for then a perfectly good fish for eating is not being wasted.

What do you think? Do you think we will see any salmon on the ice for this series? Is this a “tradition” Canuck’s fans should build upon?